The Theory of Everything actor gave a moving speech where he thanked his "three families", including his own family, his professional family, and the family of Stephen Hawking.

The 33-year-old actor was shaking as he broke down in tears and described it as the "best night" of his life.

Eddie Redmayne (Image: REX)

Earlier in the evening the star who starred as Professor Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything', admitted the last 12 months had been like a dream.

Speaking ahead of the awards he said: "It's been kind of mind-blowing ... [This time last year] we'd made the film, but we hadn't seen it put together.

David Beckham with Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne (Image: Getty)

"I so cared what Stephen Hawking and [his first wife] Jane Hawking would think of the film. It's been such a dream, really."

Eddie has been nominated for the Best Actor prize alongside Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game, Ralph Fiennes for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler and Michael Keaton for Birdman.